Thread by @uaexplainers

#26

Why we think all Russians are responsible for the war.

How collective responsibility can push Russia to rethink its imperial myths, bring justice to Ukraine, and prevent future wars.

A (long, as always) thread.

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Since day one of the invasion, there has been a certain communication pattern between many Ukrainians and foreigners.

It goes like this: a Ukrainian claims that the entire Russian society is to blame for the invasion of their homeland,

while the other person says the entire nation cannot be responsible for the crimes of the totalitarian regime. The two fail to understand each other’s positions and the discussion is shut down.

So let's dive into the thoughts behind the "all Russian are responsible" narrative.

Yes, Ukrainians are emotional. We can’t help getting emotional thinking about the atrocities done to our friends, family, and neighbors. But the idea that Russians are collectively responsible for the war is not rooted in our emotions.

It is rooted in a deeper understanding of Russian society and its inherent troubles. In greater exposure to Russian imperialism and xenophobia – and in the realization of the historic failure to hold Russia responsible.

Even those Ukrainians who may not be aware of these terms understand Russia and Russians all too well to feel the true reasons behind the invasion deep in their guts.

So, why do we think all Russians are responsible?

Ukrainians have lived alongside Russian people and under Russian political rule for centuries. Many of us have family ties and friendships with Russians – at least, we had until the war began.

Not only we witnessed the imperialistic chauvinism and racism in conversations – but we also saw the reaction of Russians to the Chechen war, the invasion of Georgia, and the annexation of Crimea.

We saw how Russian media turned from casual xenophobia toward Ukrainians to outright hatred and genocide threats. We saw how Russians labeled everything they disagreed with as “fascism” and “Russophobia.”

The Ukrainians have fought and given lives to defend our freedom and democracy from Russia and pro-Russian forces since 2014. Meanwhile, the Russians, at best, came to accept Putin’s dictatorship and the crushing of independent media and opposition leaders.

The 2022 invasion of Ukraine is the culmination of everything that is wrong with Russia’s self-perception and its treatment of its neighbors and former colonies. It is the result of the collective failure of Russian society. And everybody who experienced Russian rule knows it.

What is collective responsibility?

Collective responsibility implies that a specific social group is responsible for a misdeed or set of crimes committed by some of its members.

As Hannah Arendt noted, collective responsibility is not the same as collective guilt:

“There is such a thing as responsibility for things one has not done; one can be held liable for them. But there is no such thing as being or feeling guilty for things that happened without oneself actively participating in them.”

Guilt is individual, and we should seek criminal

punishment for every Russian person killing, raping, and torturing Ukrainians, for every Russian aiming missiles at residential buildings, and for spreading genocidal propaganda. But responsibility is more nuanced.

All members of Russian society carry some (but not equal) amount of responsibility for letting the war happen for 9 months now. They carry political responsibility for letting Putin’s regime cement its power for 22 years and for not stopping his rise.

The line between guilt and responsibility is a thin one – but this approach is the most constructive way to approach Russian society in the long run.

Let’s discuss why.

Russia has always been a land empire. Since the late 15 century, it has conquered and exterminated multiple nations from Eastern and Northern Europe to Central Asia to the Pacific Ocean. Wherever it went, Russia used a common colonial tactic of diminishing indigenous cultures and

languages, oppressing intellectuals and elites, and using mass terror against those who resisted. Ukraine is one of many nations brutalized by centuries of Russian imperial rule.
When the Russian Empire collapsed in 1917, the Red Army managed to retake most of the former colonies

by brute force and established the rule of terror that took millions of lives and conducted multiple genocide campaigns. Post-1991, Russia continued to deny the sovereignty of its neighbors and invade other nations, most notably Georgia, Moldova, Chechnya, Ukraine, and Syria.

Unlike many other former empires, Russia never had to look in the mirror. It never had a proper reflection on its colonial legacy. It never recognized any of the genocidal atrocities it did to the other nations, and it never felt it owed anything to the nations it oppressed.

On the contrary, the modern Russian identity is built on blindly glorifying its past – from the centuries-old imperial expansion and the brutal genocidal regime of Stalin. In its national discourse, Russia has monopolized the victory over Nazi Germany and, bizarrely, views itself

as the ultimate anti-imperial power that opposes Western influence. They are never the bad guys, never.

The imperial worldview in Russia is so deep that even those who don’t support the war or Putin – including many of the prominent opposition leaders –

have a hard time understanding the troubling attitudes of the colonized people toward the Russian language, culture, and political influence. They are not yet aware of their country’s deeply colonial role in much of Eurasia.

And we can't succeed in challenging the imperial worldview by putting all the blame on one dictator.

Yes, Putin and his closest circle are responsible for pushing the button and initiating the invasion of Ukraine. Yes, all these people and hundreds if not thousands of military

personnel must meet justice for war crimes and crimes against humanity. But saying this is “Putin’s war” is incorrect and shortsighted.

For 9 months now, Russian society has largely supported or passively gone along with the invasion and its aftermath.

Putin’s regime feeds on the deep-seated imperial worldview of Russian society – and we must finally confront the worldview, not just its product.

By framing the war as “Putin’s war,” we falsely hope for a “fresh start” with post-Putin Russia.

Instead of pushing Russians to face their imperial attitudes and revise their view of themselves, the world will just hope that Russia will magically get wiser after Putin. It won’t.

Russia never became a fair, decolonized version of itself by changing its ruler.

It always went from a genocidal absolutist ruler to a power vacuum crisis and back – failing to break out of the cycle.

If we want to end the war in Ukraine and prevent future invasions, we have to pressure Russia to finally start decolonizing itself.

That’s what Ukrainians feel would be a just end to this war. That’s why we have to take up the approach of collective responsibility.

In other words, Russia must lose entirely.

Most of the democratic world already understands that only the complete fall of Putin can end this war. They are yet to understand that even the fall of Putin’s regime will not be enough to end this and many other Russia-instigated wars for good.

The Russian empire must die. The Russian World must fall apart. Russia’s worldview and self-perception must fall into a deep crisis. Only out of complete defeat and the resulting societal crisis can a decolonized version of Russia arise.

And a decolonized Russia is the only Russia that can sustain lasting peace and hope for normal political cooperation with its former colonies and the rest of the world.

We shouldn’t be afraid of a “humiliated” Russia. In fact, we should be much more afraid of a quick return to

business as usual with whoever comes after Putin. This is a rare opportunity to pressure Russia to finally outgrow its imperialism – and to put an end to the immense danger and injustice around and within its borders.

Enter collective responsibility.

Collective responsibility, if applied properly, can be one of the crucial instruments to change Russia and end the war in a just way.

The concept doesn’t imply that Russians should be hated or discriminated against because of their ethnicity. Not at all.

It should give a framework for the entire Russian society – starting from the intellectuals and prominent Putin opposition leaders – to take ownership of their state’s actions and start an honest dialogue about Russia’s past, present, and future.

It’s harmful to embrace the way of thinking that detaches ordinary Russians from the responsibility for the atrocities of the invasion of Ukraine.

That way, whoever comes to power after Putin will be able to put all the blame for the war on Putin and his closest circle –

whitewashing millions of Russians who contributed to the war effort and tens of millions who openly supported the genocide.

This would cut any meaningful social and political transformation at its root. This would restart the cycle of Russia’s imperial history and set another

time bomb that will explode with new invasions and genocides across Eurasia.

To begin the meaningful kind of change, let’s start by acknowledging the collective responsibility of Russians and Russian imperialism for the invasion of Ukraine –

and by refusing to accept the simplified “Putin’s war” narrative.

Next time you hear a Ukrainian saying, “all Russians are responsible,” – try to listen to what else they have to say instead of labeling their thinking as xenophobic or emotion-driven.

End of thread.

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